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Chapter 10
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Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 11
The moment my eyes meet Ethan’s from the doorway, I knew there was no turning back. I had to admit every lie that I’ve told. Before Alexander left the room, he’d touched my hand and gave it a small squeeze of reassurance. I return the gesture with a small smile. I turn to Ethan and watch him cross the small space from the doorway to the couch. He looks ethereal. Tight dark jeans cover his long legs and he’s exchanged the button-down he was wearing earlier for a yellow hoodie, that looked so adorable on him. Only Ethan Reed could look simultaneously cute and hot. When Ethan finally reaches me, he says, “Hi.” To which I reply with a, “Hi,” back. After that, we both sit in silence. It's awkward, to say the least. We both aren't sure how to continue, but it was Ethan who breaks the silence first. “It was really cool seeing you up there.” “It’s nothing,” I reply, twisting my hair in my fingers. Anything to keep them busy; I can't look Ethan in the eyes. I still feel weird about lying.
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 12
“I can’t believe you convinced me,” whining would do me no good now as I sit in the passenger’s seat of Ethan Reed’s Porsche Panamera GTS. Ethan just smirks, “If it would make you feel better, just think of it like you didn’t have a choice.” That part is true. After walking all the way out of the compound, there still aren’t any taxis around, not even on booking apps. I seriously considered hitch-hiking, when a white Porsche pulled up beside me. “Get in,” Ethan says through the lowered window. And now, here I am, admiring the white interior of Ethan’s car. I feel so embarrassed now. I protested about riding with him and in the end, I still had to. “I’m sorry for the trouble, and thank you.” He really didn’t have to do this, but Ethan’s a pretty good guy. Though I’m still very much worried about how this is all going to play out, I’m grateful for his help. “Hey, it’s no big deal,” Ethan replies taking a quick glance at me. “I’m the one who insisted, remember?” That makes me smil
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 13
“From now on, I’ll follow you wherever you go.” “I’m sorry, you want to do what?” Ethan Reed, the sexiest man in the world is sitting across from me at a cute little coffee shop just outside the city, and he’s asking me to do what? Shadow him? “No, no! Absolutely not!” And if it helps, I wave my hands in front of me. There’s no way. There’s just no way I’d agree to something like that. “Come on, Keira.” Now that’s just unfair. There’s no saying ‘No’ to those puppy dog eyes, but I have to remain firm. For my own sake, and for his. “You won’t even notice my presence, I’ll totally be out of your way.” “Why do you even want to do this?” Ethan looks at me like I was stupid. Granted, he did just explain to me a plan of his that would make him more confident to be himself, but it involves me and him being around each other all the time. That is already a stupid idea and a recipe for a disaster. *** I look around the café. It’s almost empty; at least from what I can see from our privat
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 14
“And when you make those sounds in the microphone? Oh, fuck it’s just magic.” I try my hardest not to blush, but it’s impossible. How do you react to someone telling you your moans sound like magic? I wish I could freeze this moment, frame it, and keep it next to my bed forever. Ethan spends another five minutes praising me as Brandy and how he’d want that for himself too. And honestly, there is nothing more I want to do than help him, but I don’t know what to do. He says he’d shadow me, but that’s too risky considering he’s an idol with a load of paparazzi waiting at every corner. “Ethan, you need to think this through,” I start after putting my coffee mug down. It’s already my second mug of coffee and I’m pretty sure I would need another one very soon. “Everywhere you turn there’s a camera in your face. Just one photo of you spending time with me would immediately be bad publicity for you and Raze. I can’t be the cause of that, I’m sorry.” No matter which angle I look at this, at
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 15
Keira“Keira!” I flinch when I hear my name being called. “Why don’t you join us?”Panicked, my eyes immediately go to the two staff members monitoring the group. My heart pounds loudly in my chest, but I manage to calm it down when I see the two busy on their phones. I send an apologetic look down Alexander’s way, mouthing my apologies as I continue to pass around the cups of iced coffee that I brought for the staff.“Where’s mine?” a woman’s voice asks, and color me surprised, I didn’t think we were having visitors, and for it to be Rina of all people.“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mutter quickly. “Here you go.”Rina accepts it without so much as a thank you. That was mine but I guess another trip to the coffee shop is better than getting scolded in front of the guys. She must be here to spend time with Ethan, and she’s a visitor. I couldn’t deny her even if I wanted to.Inwardly, I sigh when Alexander waves me over, bringing the group’s attention to me. Now, I can’t refuse, already embarrasse
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 16
KeiraI blame it on reflex when I shake Ethan’s hand away a little too violently. Well, reflexes and panic.“What are you doing?” I whisper-yell at him, my head whipping side to side to check if anyone saw. About half a dozen people are walking the halls but no one was paying attention to us, thank God. “This isn’t what we talked about!”My irritation grows when Ethan holds his hands up in surrender, but he doesn’t look even a little bit sorry for what he did.He and I agreed that we’d keep it lowkey. To be honest, I didn’t think we’d have to interact this early on after we made that deal. Shit, should I have asked for a written contract? That way I could set some limits. If even a tiny rumor starts, Ethan would get scolded a bit, but I would get fired. I literally have everything to lose, and this asshole is acting like everything is right in the world.“Relax,” he says chuckling at my reaction. I may have overreacted a little, but it was his fault for being careless in the first pla
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 17
KeiraI don’t see Ethan for the rest of the day and even the next day after that. This might be just me overthinking, but what if Ethan is avoiding me?I hadn’t meant to be rude but I do admit that I might have been a little rude. Sighing, I drag my ass up to the studio. After begging the senior producer for weeks, I managed to get myself a free slot to use one of the recording studios.To be honest, when Ethan offered to let me produce a song for him, I was beyond excited. I got to work right away, and in three short days, I’ve managed to come up with a couple of songs that I could pitch to him… well if he’s still willing to listen.“Wow, look at all this stuff,” I mutter quietly to myself. This is probably the only time I’d get an opportunity to use these so I have to make the most of it. “Don’t screw this up, Keira.”Making quick work with the setup, I set ample time for when the cue starts so I can run into the booth and sing.The first notes of the song filter into the headphones
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 18
KeiraSweat drips down my chest under the strobing club light, drunk on the energy in the room. It was times like these when I really love my job despite how taxing it is. There’s no greater feeling than seeing so many people grooving to my music.“What is it?” I ask when a staff member taps me on the shoulder to whisper in my ear. “VIPs? Sure, I can do that.”I do a quick search on my laptop, looking for the perfect song to play. Found it.“I heard we got a couple of VIPs on the floor tonight,” I say into the mic, flirtingly. “Let’s give them a warm welcome, shall we?”Moving to the turntable, I spin then a couple of times, building up the song until I reach the perfect moment to transition into RAZE’s newest dance song. ‘Like it.’The opening chorus pours in through the speakers and the crowd goes wild! However, this time I know it’s not because of my music, but the hype in knowing there are celebrities in the club. Whoever they are, they made a pretty good request. ‘Like it’ is one
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Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 56
KeiraThe whole arena explodes into gasps and whispers. Normally, you’d be able to ignore whispers, but when twenty thousand people start to collectively gossip about you in your presence, then it starts to become bothersome.My eyes meet Ethan’s asking for help, but he offers me a determined look and a reassuring smile.“You’ve seen her in the news and tabloids, and I’d like to ask everyone to please leave her alone,” Ethan speaks with a sternness in his voice, that I’ve only heard him use on me a few times. “She didn’t ask for this—to be in the spotlight. It was my fault that this happened. So, any hate toward her should be directed at me instead.”The crowd starts to shout comforting words at him, then.“It’s not your fault!”“We’re sorry!”Ethan smiles at his fans and I’m glad that he has those who genuinely support him. “Thank you all for your support. I promise not to let you down again in the future. From this moment forth, I promise to always be honest with you… no more surpri
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 55
KeiraWhen the four members of RAZE came to me with VIP tickets to their concert, I knew they were up to no good.“I’ll take this as collateral,” Alexander tells me as he unclasps the necklace and keeps it in his pocket. I cried about my necklace that night. I missed it the moment Alexander took it from me. It felt like it has always been a part of me, and when they took it, it felt like a part of me was missing.I sat on it, slept on it, and pondered on it for a long time before I decided that I had nothing left to lose except the man that I love.So without finishing my shift at the club, I shoot Jax a message, apologizing for disappearing all of a sudden.JAX [8:42 PM]Hurry up or you won’t make it.Dumbass.Did Jax know about this? It wasn’t impossible given how Alexander, Ethan, and apparently Luke too were friends with him. I shoot Jax a quick thank you before running up to my uber.“Sir, I’m in a hurry. Please drive fast.” This wasn’t the first time that I had asked an uber dri
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 54
Ethan“It’s the final day! Let’s give it our best!” Alexander leads the group to cheer again and we scream together to hype each other up.The previous concert days have gone smoothly and I’m confident that I can give a perfect performance today as well and I have Keira to thank for that.I’ve received positive responses from the fans telling me how they love my new look. And how they wished they could have seen me in this concept earlier.It makes me smile, but I can’t tell them that this isn’t a concept. This is my real personality, plain and simple.The concert goes well and without a hitch. It wasn’t until Liam pulls me aside during Aiden’s solo song that I notice that the boys are antsy.“Hey, are you okay?” I ask curiously. “You’ve been jumpy since the concert started. Are you nervous about something?”Liam’s nervous look transforms into a confused one real quick. “Nervous? I’m not nervous. Maybe you’re nervous—”“Okay, Liam, I got this.” Alexander cuts him off and the look of r
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 53
EthanMaking sure I’m still safe in my hiding spot, I reread Keira’s message over and over. This is real, right? Did she message me? This isn’t just some mirage that I’d imagined because I’m so deprived of Keira in my life, right?Just as I’m wondering about the possibility of Keira sending me a message, another one comes in.KEIRA PATEL [10:16 PM]It’s annoying and Naomi’s starting to hate me.Stop.I didn’t dream it.Holy shit, she’s talking to me. I’m overjoyed. There’s a part of me that entertained the idea of Keira moving on and leaving me. I was hopeful but I must admit I was starting to think she’d never be able to forgive me for what happened. This doesn’t mean she has forgiven me, but talking to me is at least a step forward. I feared that she was lost to me forever, but I guess there’s still hope.Quickly, I type out my reply.ETHAN REED [10:16 PM]You replied!Wait.YOU CAN SEE ME?If she could see me then maybe Keira really is at home. I peer outside the window but I can’
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 52
EthanThe concert goes on as planned.Alexander huddles us together before the concert starts, like how he does at the beginning of every major event.“Everything that happened tonight, let’s forget about it and give all of our energy back to the fans who came here to see us. We owe all of our success to them and despite everything, they’re still here to support us. Let’s give them the show of their lives.”We all cheer after Alex’s speech and it was moving.As we wait in the wings as the opening VCR starts, Alex pulls me aside and crushes me with a tight hug.“I’m proud of you,” he says into my ear and I can’t help the sigh of relief that leaves my lips. “I’m proud of you, Ethan.”He lets me go and I’m too ashamed to face him.“God, I’m sorry, Alex—for everything—”‘You’Ve apologized enough,” he says with a smile and he claps a hand on my shoulder. “Whatever happens, we got you. We’re a team, remember? I’m sorry if I made you feel like you couldn’t rely on me. But you always have my
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 51
KeiraI think I made a mistake. Whatever possessed me to think I could face the club owner sober?Jax is intimidating when I’m drunk, and he’s downright terrifying now that I’m sober. He stares at me like I’m prey and he’s a predator waiting for me to make a move before he devours me alive.“So?” he asks. Shit. He spoke first. Jax spreads his hands out in a welcoming manner. “I have a few minutes, go ahead. Plead your case.”“Okay,” I huff out and take a deep breath. “First of all, I’m really sorry about what happened. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. And believe me, it wasn’t my intention… I’d understand if you’d want to fire me if I brought any bad rep to your club—”One of Jax’s eyebrows quirks up in question. “You’re asking me to fire you?”“No!” I blurt out, eyes wide in panic. “No, I’m sorry. No, quite the opposite. I’m here to beg you for a job.”Phew. It’s out. I managed to get it out. Great job, Keira.Observing Jax, nothing changed with his demeanor. The same playful
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 50
KeiraAs promised, Naomi comes with me to Myth the next day. Feeling pretty much the same as I did yesterday, I had to bury myself in a shit-ton of makeup to hide the puffiness and dark circles.“Maybe if you hadn’t stayed up late watching The Notebook, then you’d have had enough time to sleep.” Yeah, Naomi had scolded me for it earlier too.Speaking of Naomi, I owe her a lot. From promising to cover my rent for this month and for canceling a meeting to come with me today, she has been the best friend anyone could ever ask for.So, as we walk up the steps of the club at nine in the morning, I make a promise to myself that if I manage to convince Jax to let me work extra hours here, I would give something back to Naomi for being such a good friend.But to ask Jax for a favor, I need to be able to see Jax first. The man is illustrious and he’s almost always never accepts a walk-in meeting. But my good friend Chris promised he’d ask on my behalf.“Hey boo, how are you holding up?” Chris
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 49
EthanWell, this is a fucking mess. When I arrived at Patrick’s office, the other members are waiting too. With Patrick still in his meeting with the president, we’re stuck here until further notice.“Well, it’s nice of you to show up,” Aiden greets me as I take a seat, sandwiched between him and Alexander on the colorful couch. Luke and Liam are on the twin bean bags on the floor playing on their phones.“I’m sorry, I got held up…” but I let it hang because when I turn to face Aiden, he doesn’t seem upset like I thought he’d be. In fact, Luke and Liam look indifferent as well. It’s only Alexander who seems to have a furrow on his brow.Standing up, I address the room. “I’m sorry I got you all in this mess.” I got their attention with that, but I know they deserve more than a half-assed apology. “I’m gonna work with Patrick to clear this up quickly.”Liam stands up then claps a hand on my shoulder and offers me a small smile. I return his smile with a grateful one. Among the men her
Destroy Me: RAZE Chapter 48
Ethan“No! No, I didn’t!” I yell out, frustrated and dejected from today’s events. With my phone connected to the car, I can talk to Patrick while driving back. “The breakup was civil! I don’t understand why Rina is lying, but don’t trust her.”I rub a hand over my mouth in frustration. It just goes to show that anything is indeed possible. What I thought would be the happiest day of my life turned out to be a nightmare. One moment I was laughing with the love of my life, tangled in the sheet, and now I’ve managed to involve her in a dating scandal.I’m such a loser. I should have immediately gone after Keira. But instead, I wallowed in self-pity for the better half of the morning before I got my shit together and called my manager.I should have expected that the media would twist this into a scandal. And Rina… that wench. I should have known she was capable of something like this. It must have been her who leaked the photo from my neighborhood. She’s the only one who knew about it t
